Birraporetti's — Restaurant in Houston

The pleasant: The dining room is delightful and the music was calm and nice.

The server Elisabeth was excellent, quick to action.

We ordered escargot and cheese pizza for starters: 1)the escargot was delicious with stubble earthy flavor served with light and crispy baguettes, and 2) the pizza dough was light and crispy with delicious red sauce and fairly nice low moisture mozzarella.

The drinks were all good.

The unpleasant: The table cloth is black, the cutlery set napkin is black and the light is dem leading to the server not being able to tell if we had eating utensils or not, so we had to request them after the starters were served.

We ordered lobster ravioli with pepper sauce and straw and hay with grilled chicken breast as mains: 1) the ravioli was acceptable but the sauce was overly salty with unbalanced flavors, and 2) straw and hay the pasta was overcooked till fork tender, you wouldn’t need teeth to eat it! The pasta was boiled without any salt in the water which made it bland, Alfredo sauce was delicious and well balanced but there was too little of it and once mixed with the watery pasta it disappeared, last but not least the chicken was dry as it could ever be and needed a sip of liquid with every bite, peas were also watery but sweet, and the mushrooms were fantastic well seasoned and well cooked.

When we notified the server about pasta over cooked we were briefly blamed for not specifically requesting al dente as if soggy fork tender pasta is the normal! and no where on the menu nor the server ever notified us that they overcooked pasta by default, then shifted to our customers think al dente pasta is raw, finally agreeing that this is outside the norm for Italian or pasta joints and offered to remake it which we gently declined.

We finished the food not to waste any, not because it was any good.

The disaster:

We ordered cannolis for dessert, they should rename it to mediaeval cannons! These were as tough as steel it took 4 hard chops and two stabs with the knife to break a bite off and they tasted like burnt oil, one bite was all it took to realize these should never be served to living creatures.

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After settling our bill we sent the cannolis back to the kitchen for the chef to try and stab them to understand what they are serving the customers.

A recommendation to the restaurant: Manager: change either the napkins or the table cloth to something brighter, if they are made from the exact same fabric: it creates color contrast issues for both your staff and customers.

Print a desert menu! The desert plate looks unappealing and too stale by the evening end, especially the crème brûlée it looked sad!

Chef: always taste your food! If it’s no good don’t send it out (or that is what i would do).

Server: don’t blame the customer for being honest, keep your judgement unbiased. When customer is providing feedback it’s not intended to offend anyone and mostly understands that you got nothing to do with how the food is made or ingredient’s quality. Being defensive means no improvement will happen.

Wish you...

Never again, awful experience. After going for years for special occasions before a play at the Alley, last night was our last. Everything from the second we walked in was unpleasant, to say it mildly. I don't enjoy giving bad reviews but I feel others should be warned before they spend their hard earned money here.

As we walked in, the two hosts at the front were chatting and barely acknowledged us. After stating I had a reservation they seemed bothered and gave us and then each other looks before finally leading us to the dungeon, I mean, the basement downstairs dining area. The ambiance was non-existent. Tables were bare, just a tablecloth. No salt and pepper, no centerpiece... Not quite the "fine restaurant" feel to match their prices.

Waiter was nice enough taking our orders, but that was the last time we saw him. Never once checked on us and wouldn't make eye contact when we tried to. Iced tea order didn't come with lemons and sweeteners and when we asked they seemed confused. Water was just tap water, no ice, no slice of lemon (ok, but... fine dining?). Drinks weren't refilled for a long time, after asking. Soda was just a can, no refills or ice (in the past it was fountain with refills and ice).

Food was ok, nothing spectacular. Biggest gripe is staff just seemed completely unaware of basic things, like offering parmesan cheese with pasta dish, or plates to eat the pizza on. When the pizza was brought to the table we were asked if we wanted plates, odd question in a fine restaurant... I have no problem eating pizza with my hand and spilling sauce everywhere, but that seems better suited to a street side pizza joint than to a fine dining establishment.

Plates didn't come. Serving stuff wouldn't make eye contact so had to get up and ask for plates. Still didn't come. Had to go upstairs and talk to a manager before someone would send us plates to dine on. Pizza was getting cold by then.

Manager (I guess? Some guy, didn't introduce himself) came to half-heartedly apologize, which was insulting; and offered to comp the appetizer. I didn't want free food. I wanted a pleasant experience and by then there was no hope for that and just wanted to get out of there. It took some doing to get the waiter to see us so he could come take our payment.

I can't really blame the staff; it is management's responsibility to train and ensure customers are well taken care of; they don't seem to be willing to take any responsibility. Maybe management changed recently? Not sure. But this place has gone down, way down. We used to really look forward to dinning here, no more. Y'all ruined our anniversary dinner; we will not be returning, ever. It's a dump, and it's a shame; we had some great...

We went in for my mom’s birthday and immediately the service was terrible. As soon as we walked in the host had his back turned to us and we were standing there being completely ignored. Thankfully a nice older lady walked by, noticed, and got us to our seats. We waited for a while before our server Key came to the table, and the first thing she said to us was “Oh I only counted four people not five I’ll bring another water”. She didn’t even introduce herself and wasn’t personable whatsoever. After waiting for a while she finally brought out another water and told us we needed to hurry up and order because it was about to get busy for the night. We were in no rush, yet she made us feel uncomfortable. We ordered a bottle of wine and while she was opening it she felt the need to tell us she’s been at work since 10am (which sounded like an excuse for her lazy service), it was unnecessary because we were there to celebrate my mom’s birthday and that had nothing to do with us. Afterwards she brought the dessert tray while we were eating our appetizers (since she was showing it to another table right before). Who wants to look at or even think about dessert while they’re on their first course? After eating our entrees, she brought out our dessert before even boxing our leftovers or making sure our dirty plates were pre-bussed. Then, she dropped off the check and ran. Our leftovers still not boxed, empty plates still on the table. I’ve been in the service industry for 10 years and I know what good service looks like. I also like to tip 40% in cash but I was so disappointed in Key’s service. After telling her we weren’t happy she rolled her eyes and stormed off. The check had auto gratuity and she didn’t even deserve that, but I know what it’s like to have a long day as a server, so we paid and left. I really wish we would’ve had a better experience. This used to be my mom’s favorite restaurant, but the service ruined it. Thankfully one of the buss boys MARIO saved the night!! Without him it would’ve been a total loss. He was so kind, genuine, and fun! He even got the live singer to sing my mom happy birthday. He’s a gem in this restaurant and deserves a promotion. Thank you Mario for your hospitality! If we come back,...